


say forever like a curse

by mcmeekin



Series: bruises [3]
Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Mystic Force
Genre: Gen, Warnings inside
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-04-08 02:34:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4287459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcmeekin/pseuds/mcmeekin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's nothing less permanent than family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	say forever like a curse

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings for truly shitty parenting, alcohol mention, vague mention of abuse???

She was raised on kingdoms built in backyards. She was the princess, Chip was the dragon, and Vida was the daring knight who saved her.

She was raised on superhero costumes and spells whispered in ears. Magic has flown through her veins since she was born, but she only notices when she knows how to comb through her memories looking for it.

She was raised on broken promises and ‘forever’s dying in her throat. She was the custody to be fought over in court, the weapon for her parents to wield against each other, the mistake, the sister born ten months after the first. She has never had anything to call her own that has lasted. Pets, parents, playmates: nothing is hers for very long.

Chip is not hers. Chip is Vida’s. Vida makes this very clear to the other kids on the playground who make fun of him for his superhero costume. Chip makes this very clear in the card which he decorates for Vida’s birthday, the one that reads ‘FOR MY BEST FRIEND’ in sloppy block letters. Madison’s birthday card only has her name.

Vida is not hers, either. Vida belongs to no one but herself. She does not belong to their drunken mother, to their absent father, to their screechy stepmother who smells too sweet. She does not belong to Madison. And Madison does not belong to her. Madison is no one’s somebody. Nothing is hers, and she is no one’s. Maybe that’s why she picks up the video camera: if she documents everything, it can never get away from her. It's hers, forever.

And then Xander shows up, and Vida proclaims him to be ‘theirs,’ but still this will not do. He is joint custody, shared property, ‘theirs,’ not ‘hers.’ And she is not his.

The summer when she becomes a ranger changes things. She suddenly has many things to call her own. Madison’s wand, Madison’s magic, Madison’s broom, Madison’s color: so many things are hers. But it all feels so temporary. She knows it’s illogical, but she feels as if everything could be snatched away from her in an instant. As if everything that is hers is on loan. Every call that’s a little too close feels like destiny breathing down her neck, demanding she give back what is not hers. But she so desperately wants it to be hers, forever. Wants something that can never be taken away from her.

They have a sleepover in Rootcore. It's Clare’s idea, but no one really wants to leave after what happened. The world that wish had created was straight out of nightmares so they all want to stay close that night. They pile into the two rooms upstairs with sleeping bags and a blanket fort that Xander and Chip orchestrate, and all her teammates promptly fall asleep.

But she can’t sleep, unsurprisingly, so she wanders downstairs. She sits on the steps next to the Xenotome and stares at the pulsing light of the globe on the table.

“Can’t sleep?” a voice says from the top of the stairs, and she jumps slightly. It’s Chip, and she realizes that his yellow pajamas make him look even younger than usual. She smiles at him and nods.

He makes his way down the stairs to where she sits. “Scared of monsters under your bed?” he teases as he plops down next to her.

She smiles. “No. But, I've never really thought that there are monsters under my bed.”

He scoffs. “Oh, come on. All kids are scared of monsters under their beds.”

She shakes her head. “I knew where the monster was when I was little. She was down the hall, sleeping next to my dad. Never under my bed.”

He grimaces slightly. “Yeah, your mom always was horrible. Guess you learn to not be scared of things when you have parents that don’t care if you _are_ scared." He seems to consider this for a moment before grinning at her. "But, hey, now you’re all grown up and can fight the monsters yourself.”

She laughs. That’s something she appreciates about Chip; he never feels sorry about her childhood and never fails to make her laugh.

“I think the real reason I wasn’t scared of monsters is because I knew you and Vida would chase them away,” she jokes.

“Of course we would!” he exclaims immediately. “You’re my sister, Madi. I would never leave you to fight monsters by yourself.”

That statement hits her in a weird way. She realizes that he means it, that he’s not just joking around. She’s his sister, and he’s her brother. And he would never leave her. The thought almost quiets her. Calms her. Maybe things are more permanent than she's always thought. Maybe this feeling is permanent.

Permanent like the trees growing in the forest, the magic running in her veins, the snarl of Rootcore as it opens, the feel of her uniform stretching across her chest. These are permanent, she assures herself now. Or, at least, she will fight for them to be so. And maybe that’s why she yells at Nick when he gives them up so easily. She will not. She will fight for them. And she will win. Because all her little permanent things will go away if the Darkness wins. Vida’s colored stripe of hair. Xander’s smile. Chip’s superhero costume. Nick’s leather jacket. Their team.

So she yells at him, and they win. And her permanence remains so. Vida in her DJ booth, Xander in a manager’s vest, Nick on his motorcycle, and Chip with a wand in his hand. Everything around her whispers to her about how it is hers, and it’s never going away.

And the whispers sound a lot like family.


End file.
